Black-crowned Night Heron

I got more mileage out of my Nikkor 70-300mm AF-S VR lens recently on a trip to Florida than I have had in a long time. This black-crowned night heron was hunting in 6-mile Cypress Slough, Fort Meyers, Florida. He put on an excellent show for several minutes. This particular shot is the first one I took that day, in the first few minutes of our encounter.